


There's No Parent Camp

by wholocked_Pinkie_in_theImpala



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe- David Adopts Max, Dadvid AU, Domestic Bliss, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, No Romance, baby au, lots of friendship though, more characters might show up later, very little angst actually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2018-12-24 01:06:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12001725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wholocked_Pinkie_in_theImpala/pseuds/wholocked_Pinkie_in_theImpala
Summary: Gwen and David are college students trying to get by on minimum wage. What happens when David brings home a little surprise to their shitty apartment?(Optional full title: What Do You Mean There’s No Parent Camp?)





	1. Baby Bonding

David always got off work at ten at night. It was a pretty bad shift, but at least it worked with his schedule. Gwen was typically asleep by then which always left David to sit alone and catch up on homework or eat a much-needed dinner. This night was somewhat special. 

David cautiously opened the front door to their apartment. No lights were on, which was a good sign. Gwen wasn’t having one of her late-night existential crises. Which was good for an entirely separate reason; David always hated the fact that Gwen thought such dark things. Regardless, David snuck in as quiet as he could possibly be. He shifted the bundle in his arms to close and lock the door. He gave another cautious look around before tiptoeing to his room. He tried his best to avoid the squeaky floorboards, but the truth was that he never actually snuck around the apartment at night before. David stepped right on the noisiest board he had ever heard. It sliced through the silence like an obnoxious knife. 

The bundle in his arms whimpered, causing David to stiffen. He tried to shush it without making too much noise, but the bundle decided to whine louder. David, now slightly panicked, decided to hum to the little bundle. It seemed to work a little bit.

“David, what the fuck are you doing?”

David yelped and the bundle started crying. He sighed in defeat and turned to face Gwen who had now turned on the hall light. She stared at him with perplexedly as well as annoyance. “What is that?” She pointed to the jacket ball in David’s arms.

“Umm,” David couldn’t seem to look Gwen in the eye. “I may have, possibly, found an abandoned child and, maybe, decided the best course of action was to take him home?” He grinned nervously.

Gwen put her fingers to her temples with a grimace. “That’s… incriminating, David.”

“I couldn’t just leave him.” David frowned.

Gwen glared at him. “You could have called the police or something! Jesus, David, don’t you ever think ahead?”

Someone pounded on the wall they shared with the next apartment.  _ “Could you keep it down? Some people are trying to sleep here!” _

If Gwen could bust through her skull from pressing so hard on her temples, she probably would have. “We’ll deal with this in the morning. For now --” she pointed at David’s arms. “-- shut him up. I’m going to take some Nyquil.” She left with a shuddering sigh.

David looked down at the baby in his arms. He was so small and helpless. Why would calling the police be the first thing on David’s mind? He just wanted to get the child out of the cold and someplace safe. He didn’t think a police station would be very inviting. But Gwen’s words were finalizing and this baby was going to the police whether David had a say in it or not. Still, David was going to make the most of the one night he had with this child. He was going to make this child have the most comfortable stay here -- even if it meant staying up all night. David walked into his room and shut the door with his foot. 

The baby hadn’t stopped his screaming. David frowned for a second before deciding to hum again. The baby didn’t seem affected at first, but he slowly started calming down until only slight whimpers remained. David felt quite accomplished at this. “How ‘bout we go to bed?” He whispered. The baby blinked up at him and David couldn't help but smile.

David set the baby down on his bed before he went over to his closet. The bed needed to be somewhat baby proof so David gathered a bunch of random clothing items and lined them up along one edge of the bed to make a barrier. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be needed, but it was just a safety precaution. David laid down on the bed, careful to move the pillows away from the baby. As David looked over, he couldn’t help but feel attached to the tiny human. “I think I’ll call you Max.” The baby snuggled closer into David’s jacket, causing David to smile again. “Goodnight, Max.”

The next morning Gwen woke up with a headache. One of the first thoughts that crossed her mind was the fact that David basically  _ kidnapped a child and brought him into their fucking apartment _ . They had to get the kid to the police as soon as possible. It wouldn’t be right on any moral or ethical level to keep the kid here. Maybe he had relatives somewhere. Maybe he would be dumped into foster care -- that was really none of Gwen’s problem. She just wanted the kid gone before she was sent to prison for harboring a child without consent from any legal guardian. If she earned enough money to live on her own this wouldn’t be a problem.

“Good morning, Gwen!” David’s cheery voice was piercing to Gwen’s ears. She always hated how he was a morning person.

Gwen mumbled something that resembled a greeting and headed straight for the coffee machine. As she mulled about the kitchen, her eyes caught sight of David in the living room. The kid was with him. This seemed to drive a spike through her headache; of course David would take the time he had with the kid as bonding time. She sighed in annoyance before deciding to confront David. “David.” She stood in front of him with crossed arms. “You know we’ll have to take him in today.”

David didn’t look up at her, like a child avoiding his mother’s gaze. “I know.”

“And you’ll probably never see him again.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I just want Max to have a good time, even if --”

“Wait, wait,” Gwen cut in. “Did you just say Max?”

David paused. “I may have.”

“Did you… did you  _ fucking name him _ , David?” Gwen all but hissed at her idiotic friend.

David chuckled nervously. “Maybe?”

Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why did you do that? When you name things, you get attached to them -- and I know how you are when you get attached to things.”

“Sorry.”

What a load of bull shit.


	2. Store Troubles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the attention! I didn't think so many people would be interested in this already :')

Gwen kicked open the apartment door, seething with anger. “I can’t fucking believe this!” She slammed the door shut after David had entered. “What the hell are we supposed to do?!”

David tried to hold a reassuring smile. “I-I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Fine?!” Gwen pointed to the baby in David’s arms. “We were supposed to get rid of him! We can’t raise a baby, David, despite what you might want to believe.” She grabbed fistfuls of her hair. “This has to be illegal or something. We can’t just ‘keep him until someone comes for him’, I mean, what the fuck? They can’t actually say that, can they? They’re the police for fuck’s sake!”

“Well, Sleepy Peak isn’t exactly known for its law enforcement,” David pointed out. A chill ran down his spine when Gwen glared at him. “I-I-I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“You can’t just keep saying that. We’re college students -- roommates -- we barely make enough money to live ourselves, how can we possibly afford everything a baby needs?”

David held Max defensively as if the idea itself would take him away right then and there. “We’ll figure it out -- I know we can. We have to at least give it a shot.” David paused for a moment, a deep frown taking his features. “And if we can’t do it, then… we’ll find someone else.”

Gwen hated seeing David frown like that. It wasn’t natural. She sighed and let her anger deflate. “Fine.” David’s face lit up in an instant. “But that means we have to go shopping today.”

Max’s face popped up from behind David’s jacket like he knew they were talking about him. His jade eyes seemed to study Gwen with interest. He and Gwen stared at each other for a few seconds before Gwen decided to speak up, “He’s kind of quiet for a baby, isn’t he?” She motioned toward him like he was a strange object. “He hasn’t cried since last night.”

David glanced down at Max. “I guess that’s a little strange, but all babies are different, aren’t they?” He didn’t know much of anything about babies. He had never really been around them before, save for family events. But he knew Gwen had experience. She used to babysit for her neighborhood back at her home town and David had heard plenty of stories on how that all worked out.

“They at least cry when they’re hungry or something.” Gwen stared at Max with interest but shook it off. “Whatever. We need to get these baby supplies pronto -- before he decides he  _ is  _ hungry.”

Sleepy Peak was more of a college town than anything else. It was just a small little place with cheap food, cheap stores, and cheap apartments. That being said, there were some people that lived there that weren’t college students. Gwen was sure she saw a family in their apartment complex once. Considering how crummy and tiny their apartments were, she couldn’t imagine it was a comfortable fit. It was a little sad that it was all they could afford.

Gwen and David walked to the nearest grocery store with Max, and Gwen couldn’t help but start to feel like that family that had lived in the apartment. It was a pretty shitty situation overall. They couldn’t afford much -- some baby formula and diapers at the most. There wasn’t any room for a crib, but David handled that pretty well last night. He was handling everything surprisingly well for someone who had never taken care of a child before. Gwen had never been this calm the first time she had to look after a baby. Then again, Gwen was never very calm for a lot of things.

“What are we gonna need, Gwen?” David asked as they entered the store. It was a quaint little place that never let them down before. The owners knew just about everyone that stepped into the place, with it being a small town and all.

“The essentials -- some baby food and diapers. Clothes are definitely not going to be our first priority. We have to eat at some point this week,” Gwen explained. She wanted to get the stuff and go, but David always walked so leisurely. It was like he didn’t have a better place to be.

Gwen led the way to the small baby aisle the store had to offer. It was only a college town, after all. Not many college kids wanted children at this point but luckily the store was considerate to think of everyone’s circumstances. “Okay, we need -- Jesus Christ, baby formula is expensive,” Gwen exclaimed. The prices were more than Gwen made an hour.

“There are different kinds,” David peered at the extensive choices. “Which one do we get?”

“The cheapest one.” Gwen grabbed a container off the shelf.

David pouted a little bit but didn’t say anything.

“Now diapers.” Gwen turned further down the aisle to look at their choices. “Oh God, these are more expensive than the baby formula.” She grimaced at the thought of how much this was going to hurt their collective pay checks.

“Which one?” David asked again.

Diapers always came in sizes, Gwen remembered. They were often carried by weight or months. And David and Gwen knew neither. All they could tell was that he wasn’t a year old yet. “Let me see him,” Gwen said with a sigh. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the kid; he was causing nothing but problems -- but she knew David would get upset if Gwen half-assed this. She and David switched what they were holding. Gwen almost threw the kid from how light he was; she thought he would be heavier. “You’re a little thin for a baby,” she mumbled under her breath. The kid looked at her with that interested stare. Gwen rolled her eyes and removed the jacket from around his frail body. He was a tiny little thing with his onesie barely even holding onto him. Gwen frowned and glanced up at David who had a sad expression. This kid was way too tiny to be healthy.

“Oh, is he yours?”

Gwen nearly dropped the baby. “W-what?” She quickly wrapped the baby back up and looked at who spoke to her. It was one of the owners. She was a nice old lady who dropped in every once in awhile. “Excuse me?”

“How old is he?”

“O-oh, um --”

“I had no idea you and Davey were starting a family.”

Gwen stood with her mouth agape, unable to find words. David looked like he was going to explode. “That -- this -- he -- I-I was just -- we were -- David,” Gwen tripped over her words. “Y-you’ve got it all wrong --”

The owner just stared at her with a twinkle in her eyes, as if she was entertained at how flustered Gwen had gotten. “You don’t need to explain anything to me, Gwen, I understand.” She winked and went on her way.

Gwen felt violated in ways she never thought were possible. She and David got confused as a couple all the time -- it was easy to say that they were just friends. But this was different. They were looking after a child now. If either of them was to be seen with this kid, then, oh God. The  implications _alone_ \--

“Take the kid.” Gwen thrust the baby into David’s arms. “I don’t wanna be seen near him.”

The two left after purchasing the expensive baby formula and diapers. It was the most either of them had ever spent in a day. At the apartment, Gwen forced David to learn how to make the formula while she went to change Max into a new diaper. The kid didn’t whine once. He just looked at her with those eyes. Gwen was starting to wonder if something was wrong with him. Maybe he was sick. Gwen sighed at the thought. This poor kid was going through so much already and he wasn’t even a year old.

Gwen carried the baby into the kitchen, deciding to see how David was coming along. She knew they had at least one baby bottle laying around in the back of a cupboard somewhere (it was an interesting circumstance. They don’t like to talk about it). “You doing okay?”

David jumped. “Oh -- I got it, I think.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and held out one of her hands. “Let me see.”

David looked amazed at how she could support the baby with one arm but handed over the bottle to her wordlessly. Gwen resembled a regular mom; she shifted Max so she could test the formula out on her exposed wrist. “Congratulations, David,” Gwen’s sarcastic voice startled David out of his thoughts. “You made baby formula.”

David beamed.

Gwen rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day and went to sit on the couch to feed the baby. She should really force David to learn all this stuff. No way in hell was she changing diapers any longer than she had to.


	3. Babysitter Conundrums

The following day was a little less calm. Gwen had a morning class and then a shift at work, which would mean David would be left alone with Max for a few hours -- if he himself didn't have class when Gwen’s shift started. David spent most of the morning trying to find someone to look after Max before Gwen decided she had enough of his nervous pacing. 

“David, chill,  _ I'm  _ supposed to be the anxious one here,” Gwen spoke in her usual annoyed tone. She had to leave in about ten minutes. “You've been up since like five in the morning.”

“Max woke me up,” David sighed. He tried to put his phone on the counter as gently as possible, but his annoyance at not finding anyone clearly showed. “What am I supposed to do with Max? I can't take him to class and I can't leave him here. I tried calling everyone I know but no one could watch him. And I can't send him to daycare because we don't have immunization records.”

Gwen put her hands on her hips, clearly not amused with the whole thing. “Just don't go to class -- ask the professor what you'll be doing.”

“I have two classes today, Gwen, and work tomorrow. I can't avoid this forever.” David put his hands on the counter and bowed his head. He looked defeated -- or at least disappointed. 

A ghost of a frown appeared on Gwen’s face. David was the happy one -- the one who always had hope. To see him so worked up about something like this wasn't right. He should be able to brush it off, but instead, he was letting it consume him. And Gwen knew all too well how that felt. Before she could open her mouth to help, a loud cry erupted from the living room.

Gwen and David both looked toward the still unfamiliar sound. Gwen was about to offer to get the kid, but David had already left the kitchen. He scooped up the tiny child from the blanket on the floor and started humming. Almost as soon as they started, Max’s wails stopped, which surprised Gwen greatly. She had never been able to calm down a baby that fast before. Maybe the kid just liked David better. What a brat.

David walked back in carrying Max. “Shouldn't you be leaving soon?”

Gwen took the time to notice that David actually looked (and sounded) tired. Jesus, they only had this kid a day and David was already becoming a mess. Gwen sighed. “I might have someone who can come watch the kid.” She pushed down a smile when she saw David turn back to his normal, cheery self almost as soon as he heard the words. “I'll let her know when to come, just be sure to let her in.”

“Can do,” David said with a large grin. It was almost sickening how fast he was able to get happy.

“I have to get going.” Gwen checked the time on her phone. “Call me if the kid becomes too hard to handle.” She left with a wave of her hand.

David gave her a nod before she closed the door. “Alrighty, Max,” David looked down at Max as he spoke. “Let’s get ready for the day.”

David went around the apartment tidying stuff up. Having a baby around meant the place needed to be clean a little more. Luckily, the apartment wasn’t too much of a mess, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It only took a little over an hour to clean everything to David’s standards and once it was done it was time to feed Max again.

“I have a few hours before class,” David said to Max as he warmed up the bottle to be room temperature. He had a habit of talking to himself so having baby Max around was a great excuse to not seem like a crazy person (Gwen’s words. He thought it was a normal thing to do). “Maybe I could look up some parenting stuff -- just so I have some clue on what to do. I’ve never even had to watch a baby before let alone take care of one. Gwen would probably laugh at me; she’s always thought those parenting websites were a little silly.” He crossed over into the living room. “But maybe I’ll be able to find around what age you are. That would be nice to know, wouldn’t it? Gwen can tell that you’re not a year old, but I want to know how many months you could be.”

David continued to babble on about random things as he fed Max. At least Max didn’t find it as annoying as Gwen did. Or if he did he couldn’t voice it. That’s when the thought occurred to David: shouldn’t Max at least be making noises? In the short time they’ve known each other, the only sound Max had made were cries or whines. He didn’t gurgle or coo -- he remained always silent. Was that concerning? Should Max be more vocal? Was that common? David didn’t have a clue, but he tried to not let it bother him much.

~~~

David jumped when he heard someone knocking on the door. He looked around blearily, forgetting where he was, before remembering what he had to do today. He stood up with caution, since Max was still asleep on his chest, and went to answer the door. “Hi,” the guest whispered when she saw the sleeping baby. “Gwen said you needed a babysitter today.”

David tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes. “Yeah.” Normally David would totally be up for small talk to try to make the girl feel a little more welcome, but right now he felt irritated that she was near him. “Do you happen to know the time?”

“Oh, it’s about to be eleven twenty,” she said with a smile.

David didn’t know what there was to be so smiley about. Regardless, he had a class to get to. “Right. Well, come on in.” He stepped aside for the girl to get through. “This is Max. I fed him at about nine and I guess we both fell asleep sometime after that.” He handed off Max to the girl. He squirmed a little and whimpered, but otherwise remained asleep. “Gwen should be home before me at around two, but if anything happens before then, then feel free to call her. Have fun.” David went off to grab his backpack and then left without another word. 

Who knew human interaction could be so laboring?

~~~

Gwen arrived at the apartment a little after 2:00. Work was annoying, as usual, but today was nothing she couldn’t handle. At least now she’d be able to take a much-needed nap.

As she opened the door, she saw one of her co-workers sitting on the couch with the kid. His eyes were trained intently on the TV as if he had never seen anything like it before. The girl noticed Gwen coming in and smiled. “Hi, Gwen,” she said in a cheery voice that could rival David’s. “Max and I were just watching TV.” As if to emphasize, she bounced the baby on her lap. “He seems to really like animal shows.”

Sure enough, when Gwen walked fully into the living room, she saw that they were watching a nature documentary. She never thought a baby would find interest in anything out of their kiddy shows. “Did he give you any trouble?”

“Oh, none at all.” She gave the baby in her lap a fond smile, then looked back up to Gwen. “He’s very quiet. He only cried once, when he woke up, but after that, he never opened his mouth again.”

Gwen nodded and looked at the kid curiously. She never encountered a baby that didn’t cry when the people that were familiar to him left. Babies almost always cried when their parents left. She figured this kid would be no different -- she and David were the ones that he was most familiar with at this point.

“I noticed you didn’t have any toys,” the girl continued when Gwen failed to speak. “Luckily, I brought some with me because he seemed to enjoy them, well, he mostly just stared at them but he did really like the caterpillar rattle. I figured he might want to keep it.”

Gwen looked at the discarded toys on the floor. The caterpillar rattle was not among them. “Keep it? We can’t just take something that you bought for your job.” She saw that the plush caterpillar was on the couch.

“I don’t mind. There are other toys, and besides, Max needs something to play with.”

Damn this girl and her good-hearted nature. Gwen didn’t feel right stealing this toy, but she also didn’t feel right denying the offer. “I guess you’re right...”

The girl beamed. “I’m sure he’s going to love it.” She stood up and propped the kid up against the couch. “I should get going -- I have another family to visit soon.”

“Wait, how much do I owe you?”

The girl simply smiled again as she went about cleaning up the mess of toys. “You don’t have to pay me anything. You’ll be needing me again, right? I’ll just put it on your tab.”

Gwen frowned. This girl was working two jobs -- there was no way she couldn’t afford not to get paid. “I can’t just pay you nothing.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she zipped up her bag. “The family I’m about to go to next always pays me extra -- they have money to burn, unlike us. I’ll get by without it, trust me.”

“Thank you so much, Cassidy.” Gwen still felt guilty, but it was clear Cassidy wasn’t going to make room for argument.

“No problem.” She paused by the door, as if she wanted to say something, but wasn’t quite sure how to. “Was David the one I met earlier?”

Gwen set her bag down on the arm chair to look for her water bottle. All this uncomfortable remorse at not giving Cassidy money but also accepting a gift was making her mouth dry. “Yeah. He’s almost as annoyingly happy as you are.”

Cassidy laughed as if the idea itself was preposterous.

“What?”

“Sorry, it’s just -- he seemed like he didn’t want anything to do with me. I guess he must’ve just woken up? He had the biggest scowl I’ve ever seen on anyone’s face the whole time he was here.” She laughed again.

This was news to Gwen. David almost always smiled at people he met. “Really? Sorry about that; David’s usually the cheery one of the two of us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him frown at somebody for more than a few seconds.” She uncapped her water.

“It’s alright,” she paused again. “Though, he is quite cute, isn’t he?”

Gwen choked -- she actually choked on her fucking water -- but she kept it in her mouth rather than doing a spit take. She drew the bottle away from her lips and tried to swallow as casually as possible. “He’s definitely… something.”

Cassidy smiled like a little girl who had just told her best friend a big secret. “I’ll see you at work, Gwen.”

Gwen vaguely acknowledged her as she left. Gwen looked at the baby on the couch, who was still absorbed in what was on TV. He didn’t seem to notice anything going on around him. “You better not get any weird crushes, kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon that David hates taking naps. On the off chance he does take one he wakes up super grumpy. He'll punch someone in the nose for looking at him the wrong way.


	4. Baby Milestones

David returned to the apartment an hour after Gwen did. He was exhausted and still a little grouchy from his unexpected nap earlier, but that didn’t stop him from greeting his friend with a smile. “Good afternoon, Gwen,” David chirped. “How was your day today?”

“Fine.” Gwen didn’t look up from the book she was reading.

“Where’s Max?” One swift look around the room told David he wasn’t anywhere.

“Sleeping in your room.”

David glanced down the hall like he was expecting to see Max there. “Well, how was he for the babysitter? What was her name? I’m afraid I wasn’t the nicest when she arrived.”

Gwen shut her book as if David had just offended her. “Cassidy.” She tossed her book on the old coffee table and refused to look David in the eye. “He was fine, according to her. He likes nature documentaries.”

“That’s good.” David beamed, unaware of Gwen’s unease. “Maybe I should do something to make up for how mean I acted today.”

“No!” Gwen shot up from the armchair. Her eyes were wide and panicked. David tilted his head in confusion. “I-I mean, why would you need to do anything? You could just apologize -- she’s a very forgiving person. I’m sure she already forgot about it.”

David wasn’t sure why Gwen was acting like this, but if she says Cassidy was forgiving then that’s all he needed to hear. “Alrighty then. Have you eaten lunch yet?”

Gwen looked relieved. “No. Max has.”

“Is there anything you wanted?” David walked over to the kitchen to see what little they had. He opened the fridge to see it nearly empty. They probably should have gone grocery shopping a while ago. He let the door close in disappointment. “We don’t really have anything.”

“I was just planning to have the leftover Chinese.”

“How old is that?”

“Old enough.”

The rest of the day was spent on homework. Gwen just turned on the TV to a random show about animals in the wild and sat Max in front of it so he would be entertained for a while. David wasn’t sure that that was the best way to deal with it, but he had an essay to write so it would have to do for now. He opened his laptop and found that it was on one of those silly parent websites that Gwen didn’t like. He must have been looking at it before his nap with Max. He took one glance at Gwen, who was at the coffee table focusing on her homework, before deciding to read what was on the website.

**Is Your Baby on The Right Track?** **  
****_Baby Milestones 1 - 6 Months_**

David cringed inwardly. Did he really look this up? He wanted to know Max’s possible age for sure, but this seemed a little silly. And embarrassing. Regardless, David read it anyway.

**_Developmental Milestones at 1 Month_ **

_ One of the hardest times of raising a baby is the one-month period. It might seem like the hardest job you’ve ever had at some points but it will only get more rewarding from here! _

_ In these first few weeks, your baby can’t see much, but she’ll be able to see the important stuff -- such as your face! Her hearing is fully developed and she’ll be able to recognize sounds like your voice. _

_ Her muscles will be working hard to learn how to function properly. She’ll be able to lift her head for a short time and turn it, but she’ll still need your support if she’s upright. Her arms will gain more control as the days pass on, but as of now, she is able to put her hands near her mouth. _

David felt as if the writing was a little condescending if not oversimplified. He decided to skip down to the three-month milestone instead of reading parenting tips. Whatever the website had to suggest it would most likely make David feel underqualified.

**_Developmental Milestones at 3 Months_ **

_ Congratulations! Your baby can smile as much as he pleases. He has more control over his face and it will only get better from here. By now, he should start copying you (both your voice and your expressions) in his own little way. _

_ His muscles have gotten stronger and now he can support his head. While on his stomach, he can even lift his head and chest! He can open and close his hands, play with toys, and push down on his legs if you hold him in a standing position. _

_ His hand-eye coordination is also much better. He should be able to track moving objects and focus intently on things that interest him. Now he can recognize you from across a room! What an improvement in such a short amount of time! _

David looked beside him at Max. According to the website, Max was doing things any 3-month-old could do. If anything, the only thing he had yet to check off the list was smiling. He wasn’t a big noise maker and he hadn’t mimicked either of David’s or Gwen’s expressions, but he sure as heck knew how to stare. And he could grab; he was holding onto the caterpillar rattle while focusing on the lions on TV. Not to mention he could certainly hold up his head. A little trouble sitting properly, but his head was no problem.

Deciding he didn’t want to stay on this site longer than necessary, David skimmed through the 4 - 7 Month Milestones section. He stopped after the first paragraph, finding it too patronizing, but also because it didn’t apply to Max. That meant Max had to be three months. Or at least somewhere between two and four months. There was room for error.

Max turned his head away from the TV to look up at David. He didn’t make a sound, just held out his rattle to David. David found himself feeling surprised for some odd reason. Maybe it was because Max hadn’t really made any type of interaction before. But David took the rattle anyway and smiled. “Thank you,” it came out softer than he intended, probably because he was touched by the cute offer. 

Max blinked at David. It seemed as if he was thinking of something -- of what, David had no clue -- it was obvious his little mind was processing. Then he smiled. It was small, very unlike most baby smiles, but it was a smile nonetheless. 

And that’s all David needed for his heart to melt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a short chapter, sorry. But I hope you can still enjoy it :)


	5. Gwen Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm loving all this positive feedback, guys. Thank you all so much.

David didn’t head to bed until about one in the morning and that meant Max didn’t sleep until then either. Gwen retired to her room much earlier than that. She always prided herself on getting a lot of sleep (because that was the only thing she could control in her life. David pretended not to know that).

When David tried to sleep, he found that Max wasn’t at all tired. Which was bad news for David, who was exhausted. He looked over at the child and wondered what was making him so fussy. Max didn’t have any trouble sleeping before -- at least in the short time they’ve known each other -- so what could be the reason now? Gwen had already changed his diaper before she went to bed. Maybe he was hungry? That was a plausible idea.

David scooped up Max and carefully navigated into the kitchen as silent as he could make himself be. He was a little weary about holding Max with one arm so he set him down on the counter. It wasn’t the safest place but it was close by. Max didn’t seem to like it. He whined as soon as David put him down. David apologized in a quiet voice and went to work making the formula after washing out the baby bottle.

Max fidgeted and made agitated noises. It was almost like he was trying to make proper baby sounds. What was he so upset about?

David picked up Max after he was done making the formula. Max clung onto his shirt like he would decide to let go at any moment (which was ridiculous, of course). David tried to get Max to eat, but the kid wasn’t having any of it. He purposefully moved his head out of the way of the bottle. “What’s wrong, Max?” David sighed and put the bottle in the fridge for tomorrow. He held Max to his chest, deciding it was best to try to go back to bed, but something interesting happened. Max’s agitation died down. It wasn’t gone completely, but it was enough for David to take notice.

Sighing again -- this time in content -- David walked back into his room. He began humming as he sat down on his bed, propping himself up against the wall for support. He started playing with the little hair that Max had and that seemed to relax him more. David couldn’t help but smile a tiny bit. Simple things appeared to have the biggest effect on Max.

~~~

“Wake the fuck up!”

David nearly jumped out of his skin. The only thing that kept him from falling off the bed was remembering that Max was sleeping on his chest.

“David, it’s almost eleven -- you have class in half an hour.” Gwen crossed her arms at the doorway. “How did you manage to sleep in?”

“I what?” David tried his best to focus on what was going on. It was strange feeling tired in the morning. “Slept in? I never do that, I -- oh my goodness.” One glance at the alarm clock on David’s nightstand told him that Gwen was right. He actually slept in. “B-but I’m the early bird.” Max began whining from all the commotion.

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Just get your ass out of bed.” She plucked Max from his arms and left to leave him to his own devices.

David stared at the doorway in shock for a moment. He hadn’t slept in in a very long time -- not since he was a kid. He always woke up bright and early. It was an odd change in pace. Maybe Max had tired him out last night; they did go to bed after one, after all. Regardless of the reason, David got himself out of bed, wincing at his sore back and neck. He slept against the wall for a good eleven hours last night. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience but at least it let Max sleep well.

After David had showered and got dressed, he was ready to face the day. He grabbed the last slices of bread and put them in the toaster. “Do you work today?” He asked Gwen as he took the butter out of the fridge.

“Tomorrow,” Gwen answered from the living room. “It’s the only day I actually have free -- maybe I can catch up on that project for bio.”

“You’ll still have to look after Max,” David pointed out. “But it’s good that you’re not procrastinating for once; leaving things to the last minute is never a good thing to do.”

“Thanks for the advice, Mom.”

David pouted a little bit but turned it into a smile. “Anything to help.”

David left soon after. He hovered around Max for a while before Gwen had to usher him out the door, saying that the kid would be fine with her. In reality, she was just going to leave him in front of the TV while she worked on her project. She was going to feed and change him obviously, she wasn’t a monster, but her first priority wasn’t looking after a baby she didn’t want in the first place. If it wasn’t for David then she might have demanded that the police take the kid; there was no reason for him to be with them. But whether she liked it or not, this kid was staying. For now, at least. Who knew if anyone would end up coming for him.

“Okay, kid, you just sit here while I do my work,” Gwen ordered as she set the baby down on the couch. He just stared at her. She frowned but saved her comment. There was no reason to say anything if he couldn’t respond.

Gwen took the baby bottle and tossed it in the sink. It could be washed later. For now, Gwen had an important project to get to. She started walking toward her room but was stopped when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. The kid was looking right at her. He had an intense stare; his little brows were pulled together in concentration. What the hell brought this on?

Gwen returned the kid’s stare. “What?” He didn’t move or make a sound. “Just watch the giraffes, kid.” She turned back to face down the hall, yet didn’t move an inch. She could tell the kid was still watching her. Guilt tripping her. “Alright, you little brat.” She spun around and stalked toward him. “We’re gonna have the best fucking time together, I swear to God.”

It almost looked as if his little baby face portrayed a smug smirk.

~~~

An hour. 

That’s all it took for Gwen to be worn out by that little hellspawn. It was almost as if he was waiting until she was alone to unleash his inner demon. All he did was throw anything Gwen tried to offer to him right back at her. Luckily, they were all soft and he didn’t have much muscle control. But,  _ God _ , could he scream. Gwen had never even heard him utter a fucking sound other than crying. Then he pulled that shit. She nearly had a heart attack when he screamed at her. She wasn’t even sure it was him at first; it was so sudden and loud. How could such a tiny person make a loud sound like that?

“Alright, kid,” Gwen laid down face first on the floor. She didn’t know how much more she could handle taking care of actual Satan. “You win. I give up. I hope you enjoyed pushing me to my limits.” She shut her eyes and accepted death among the pillows and substitute toys.

Then Max laughed.

It was a pleasant sound -- as most baby laughs are. It was a mixture between soft, jingling bells and squeals of excitement. Sharp and loud yet graceful and endearing.

It caused Gwen’s head to shoot up in disbelief. He had a wide smile on his face, showing that baby teeth had yet to grow in. He looked so happy that Gwen couldn’t help but let a smile of her own onto her face. He giggled once more when he saw her. “I’m glad you get enjoyment out of my misery,” Gwen joked. She was actually bursting with joy on the inside. This poor kid had barely done anything outside of cry and stare yet here he was laughing. She made him laugh for what was probably the first time in his life. And that’s all she needed for her heart to melt.

But there was a little voice in her head that reminded her that Max wasn’t going to stick around forever. This wasn’t her kid, nor was he David’s. He probably had some other family members that would be willing to take care of him. There wasn’t a high chance that his real parents would be able to take him back. They did abandon him in the streets, after all. 

He wouldn’t be with them forever. Gwen knew he was going to have to leave sometime.

She didn’t realize she had a deep frown until she noticed the kid giving her that intense stare. The smile was wiped clean off his face. They stared at each other before Gwen decided to break it with a sigh. “Come on, I think it’s time for you to nap.” She stood up and scooped him from the couch. He grabbed onto her shirt with one hand while the other held his caterpillar rattle. “I have to work on my project.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got both David and Gwen to fall in love with baby Max in only two chapters. Nice.
> 
> But some headcanons for your headcanon pleasures: David pouts when he sees or hears something he dislikes/disapproves of but no one realizes that he does it. Not even him. He immediately replaces it with a smile.  
> Gwen has a hard time liking things (mainly people and animals). She's afraid that if she gets too invested in them they'll end up breaking her heart in some way. (This is a story specific headcanon, but I feel like people would like it)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter :)


	6. Babysitter Crushes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, romance still isn't the center of this fic. I just want to fuck with David a little

Gwen was passed out on the couch when David arrived. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw her; he was so used to her being asleep in her room by this time. There were papers scattered everywhere and the laptop was lying dangerously close to the edge of the coffee table. David turned on the light and Gwen reacted almost instantly. Her face scrunched up in annoyance. “What the hell?” She mumbled as she sat up. Her eyes blinked open and David could just feel the irritation. “David? What time is it?”

“Almost eleven,” David answered without looking at his phone.

“Eleven?” She looked at him in confusion. “I thought you got off work at ten -- why are you here so late?”

“I had to cover someone else’s shift until they came.”

The answer seemed to satisfy Gwen. She pushed the laptop onto the table in order to walk past it. “I’ll clean this shit up later -- G’night, David. The kid is sleeping in your room.” She shut her door without another glance back.

David waited a few extra minutes to make sure she was going to stay there before walking to his room. He hated lying to Gwen, he really did, but it was necessary. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself. He knew lying was wrong and that it only caused trouble. It would be confronted later when Gwen found out. “Hey, Max,” David said softly. “I thought you were sleeping.” Max was sitting on David’s bed, looking up at him with those big eyes. He seemed wide awake. “I guess that makes this a little easier.”

David set his backpack down on the ground to open it up. He took out the source of his lies and sat down on the bed to show Max. Max’s eyes instantly latched onto it. “I wanted to buy you more toys, but this was the only thing I could afford.” David smiled as he handed it to Max. “I thought you would like it.”

Max took the bear in his tiny hands and stared at it. Since Max was such a small baby, the bear was almost the size of him (Max was bigger by a tiny bit). He shook it around a little but otherwise did nothing. David wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. He put one hand on the bear and Max took it away with a noise that David assumed would be disapproval. “I’m gonna assume that you like it.” He sat cross-legged on his bed. He watched as Max continued to stare at the bear with a curious look -- as if he was trying to discover any secrets it held. David smiled. “You’ll probably like it a little more when you’re older.”

David had to walk to the next town over in order to get it. There weren’t any stores that sold toys in Sleepy Peak and most stores were already closed by the time he got off work. It took an hour to walk there and back which is why he got home so late. He was nearly deterred since most of the way there held a lack of streetlights, but he persisted if it meant Max would get at least one toy. Unfortunately, that meant David’s allowance took a significant hit. He didn’t mind since Max looked so intrigued to have a fluffy companion. But he knew Gwen would harp him for wasting money on something that wasn’t essential -- he did make more money out of the two of them. If he could keep it secret for a little while then that would be great.

“I guess your sleeping schedule isn’t the best,” David commented. He moved to lean against the wall and set Max on his lap. “Don’t worry, mine isn’t either. We could watch YouTube videos until we fall asleep. How does that sound?” Max looked up at him and blinked. “Great.”

They spent the rest of the night looking at dog and cat videos.

The next morning David woke up nice and early, which meant Max was up too. They ate breakfast and played until Gwen got up at nearly ten o’clock. She mumbled something close to a greeting when David chirped at her. David let Max wave the rattle around while he stood up to talk to Gwen. “I cleaned up the papers you left behind last night,” he mentioned. “I didn’t want them to get messed up so I put them by the TV.” He was used to Gwen not saying much in the morning. “Are you going to get Cassidy to babysit again?”

Gwen took out the scrambled eggs that David made earlier from the fridge. She shoved it in the microwave on some random number and went toward the coffee maker. “I’ll have to see if she’s available. If not then oh well. Let the kid fend for himself.”

David pouted a little but wiped it off. “I’m sure we can make arrangements if she isn’t able to come. There’s no need to leave Max alone while we’re gone.”

“Whatever you say, David.” Gwen took the steaming eggs out of the microwave.

Cassidy was available and more than happy to babysit for Max again. According to her, he was the most well-behaved child she had to look after (which David was delighted by). Gwen had a slight suspicion that she was eager since David would be the one to let her in again and not just because Max feigned innocence. If she saw that Max was a direct spawn of Satan then she might reconsider coming back -- regardless of the fact that David lived here. But Cassidy’s weird crush thing (and how to somehow sabotage it) would have to be put aside for now. Max needed a babysitter.

“Who's going to be home first?” Gwen asked. She was all ready to go to class, but certain things needed to be dealt with. If David wouldn't be home first then she needed to mentally prepare to have to talk to Cassidy. And considering the circumstances it would probably take all day.

“I should,” David responded. “But not until late. What time does your shift start?”

“Right after my twelve o’clock class.”

David held out his hand for Max to beat his tiny fist on. “Do you think they'll be alright?”

“Who?” Gwen was trying to make her way toward the door. She had to leave now in order to get to class on time. 

“Cassidy and Max.” Max stopped and wrapped his hand around one of David's fingers. “I know that Max isn't really fussy, but he hasn't been here for very long. What if he gets upset because we aren’t around enough?”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “You're acting like we're always gone. The kid spends just about every minute he's awake with you -- he's like a duckling.” She glanced at the time on her phone. “I have to go. Don't stress out so much about this kid.” She threw open the door and left with, “And remember to call me if anything goes wrong.”

Max stared at the door after it slammed shut. He looked up at David as if expecting to find an explanation. 

“She'll be back, Max.” David smiled at him. “Are you up for some baby animal documentaries?”

David was more than happy that Max enjoyed watching things about nature. It made things easy since that was something that David could enjoy and Gwen could use as background noise as she read. It was also a good excuse to start watching all the nature documentaries he had saved up on Netflix. Who didn't love an episode of  _ Baby Animals in the Wild _ ?  Max certainly did. From what David could tell, he seemed to like the baby elephants the most, which David could find understandable. Baby elephants were pretty cute. They had tiny trunks and little coordination. It was adorable. It was also adorable the way Max appeared to be super invested in the tale of the elephant family.

An episode later is when Max started getting a bit cranky. “Is it time for a nap, Max?” David thought out loud. Max, of course, didn't say anything. The most he did was glare at the floor. “I'll take that as a yes. C’mon, kiddo.” David paused the show and picked up Max to take him to his room. He didn't put up much of a fight, just whined at leaving the baby elephants behind. “We'll watch it when I get back, I promise.” David set down Max on the bed. “Be good for Cassidy, alright?” He made sure Max would be able to sleep on his own before gently closing the door.

There were about twenty minutes until David's first class started and ten minutes until Cassidy was supposed to arrive. So it was safe to say that David had time to kill. He plopped down on the couch and turned off Netflix. He didn't need to get invested in a show with so little time to enjoy it. Instead, he put on some random TV show that Gwen would probably get a kick out of but he had no interest in. Only three minutes passed when there was a knock on the door. David double checked the clock to see if more time had passed than he thought. “Strange,” he mumbled as he stood up to answer the door.

Sure enough, there stood Cassidy. Eighteen minutes early. “Hi,” her sing-song voice floated around the doorway.

“Hello.” David took this time to actually look at Cassidy. Last time they met he was too pissed to give her a second thought. But now David saw how young she was; she couldn't have been older than seventeen. Her face was still soft and round -- like a child. David couldn't imagine someone like her struggling to earn money. “You're Cassidy, right? Sorry about the other day. I’m not usually like that, I promise.”

Cassidy giggled. “Oh, it’s alright. I understand how hard it can be to wake up in the morning.”

David wanted to point out that it was actually very easy for him to wake up in the mornings but decided that wasn’t the best thing to say. “Would you like to come in?” He stepped aside for Cassidy to pass. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here so soon.”

“Sorry, I thought it would be better if I came early." She was hovering by the armchair as if waiting for permission to sit down. Or maybe waiting to see where she should sit. "Where’s Max?”

David closed the door. “Sleeping.” He went so sit on the couch but stopped when he noticed Cassidy. “Would you like to sit down?” He motioned to the available spot next to him.

He _just_ missed the ecstatic look Cassidy gave.

And he didn’t pay much attention to the fact that she might have been sitting a little closer than necessary.

David wasn’t quite sure what to do. Should he ask if she wanted to choose a show or try to strike up a conversation? What if she was into the same kind of shows that Gwen was into and didn’t want to be interrupted? Well, there was only one way to find out. “So, Cassidy --” He was cut off before he could really begin.

“You can call me Cass.” She looked at him through thick lashes. Almost like a little kid trying to show their parents that they were innocent.

“Cass,” David continued. “How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’ll be eighteen soon.” She beamed at him. “My birthday's next month, but I guess you could say today is my unbirthday.”

David grinned. “Well, a very, merry unbirthday to you.”

“And to you!”

They both giggled like children who just told an inside joke. “I’m surprised,” Cassidy said. “Not a lot of people get that reference right away -- or at all. Do you like  _ Alice in Wonderland _ ?”

“Are you kidding? I love it!”

The two spent the rest of the time David was there ignoring the TV. Whatever it was showing wasn’t as important as the conversation they were having. David had never met someone who read the  _ Alice in Wonderland  _ books and enjoyed them as much as he did. As much as he loved and appreciated Gwen, it was great to make another friend. He was starting to forget what it was like to have meaningful conversations with someone other than his roommate.

Cassidy, on the other hand, took this as a way to crush even harder on David.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been giving a lot of headcanons and things but hear me out: David loves Alice in Wonderland. The Disney rendition is his favorite version.


End file.
